About 83,700 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder or ASD in Australia. ASD is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person communicates and relates to others. People who have autism may find social interactions difficult and may experience unusual behaviours or interests. There are many different types of autism and there are also various options for treatment — one of which is Applied Behavior Analysis or ABA Therapy.

What Is Applied Behavior Analysis

Considered the best practice methodology when it comes to autism interventions, ABA is a rather broad term for the science of changing socially significant behaviours.

ABA therapy is the culmination of various positive reinforcement strategies and methods that are aimed at improving a patient’s communication, social, and cognitive skills. The goal is to help children with developmental disabilities learn how to behave appropriately, especially in certain situations (e.g. Controlling their impulses).

The ABA framework is generally composed of the following:

Consultation and assessment. This critical fundamental step is about identifying the behavioural issues of the child with ASD and areas for improvement. An ABA-trained therapist carries out this evaluation. It is done by interacting with the child themselves or visiting their home and school to observe their day-to-day activities.

Plan designing and goal setting. The therapist will then devise a formal therapy plan based on careful observation. This plan is personalised so that the child’s particular needs will be effectively addressed. Different reinforcement methods can be incorporated into the plan — and it will depend on the child’s age and mental capacity.

Training. ASD intervention programs don’t just involve the therapists and their immediate supervisors. Parental involvement is also inevitable. In some cases, caregivers may also be involved (if the child has a caregiver looking after them). Hence, training these people are also important to ensuring the success of the treatment plan.

Plan implementation and therapy sessions. The goal of a personalised treatment plan is to help improve a patient’s behaviour and ability to control their impulses. As stated, it can involve several learning methods but they typically contain these five main components:

Task analysis (breaking down an activity into smaller, manageable steps)

Chaining (teaching the broken-down steps to the patient)

Prompting (imparting new and relevant skills for the completion of the tasks)

Prompt fading (allowing the patient to be prompt-independent when performing their new skills and finishing their tasks on their own)

Shaping (a kind of teaching that reinforces the needed skills to perform new skills independently)

Evaluation. At regular intervals, evaluations are performed to see if the child is able to meet the goals stated in the plan. After an ASD intervention program, another evaluation is done to determine its effectiveness and what the next course of action should be.

Know More About Intervention Programs For Kids With ASD

United by the common goal of helping kids with ASD achieve their full potential, the ASD Community Support Service is committed to providing effective, scientific intervention programs. These programs are based on ABA principles and are administered with utmost professionalism.

They have a team of ABA behaviour therapists who hold at-home therapy sessions (about 20 to 40 hours per week). These are bespoke sessions that are strictly supervised by a designated program supervisor.

Learn more about the ASD Community Support Service here: https://www.asdcommunitysupport.com.au. For enquiries, call them on 02 6181 0974 or email them at [email protected].